Robservations – HS kid pulls off the prank of the year
Parents in Warren County have the right to be proud.
They’ve raised, for the most part, some pretty smart children. You can look at the honor roll lists, or attend the awards presentations each spring at our various schools, and see evidence of this.
But I don’t know if we’ve got anyone as clever as the kid who pulled off this stunt.
Kyle Garchar, a senior at Hilliard Davidson High School in Ohio, earned himself three days of in-school suspension for tricking fans from a crosstown rival to hold up placards which, when displayed in the stands in unison, insulted the team those fans came to support.
As this is a family oriented column, we won’t use the actual word which was displayed when three sections filled with 800 Darby High School boosters held up their cards at the start of the third quarter. But we’ll give you a hint.
According to journalists’ accounts of the story, which made the national wire services on Thursday, the signs indicated that Darby ‘ and/or its fans ‘ ‘draw air swiftly through the lips and mouth, such as inhaling liquid through a straw.’
Get it? I thought you would. See? You’re pretty smart!
According to reports, Garchar spent three days plotting his prank, after being inspired by a similar trick pulled off by Yale students during their game against Harvard in 2004.
I know it goes against every rule of sportsmanship, but from where I sit this kid looks like a genius. He duped 800 fans of his school’s crosstown rival into thinking they were going to hold up ‘Go Darby,’ and instead they slammed their own team.
My first question is, how long did it take the Darby fans to realize they’d been had?
And my second question is, how much did this Garchar kid’s ‘coolness’ stock rise after the prank succeeded?
‘It was tedious,’ he told reporters. ‘I didn’t really think it was going to work.’
But it certainly did, and you can go on the Website ‘youtube’ and see the evidence for yourself. Just search for ‘Darby prank.’
And at the end of that video, Grachar shows a little sportsmanship, by thanking the Darby fans and telling them ‘it couldn’t have been done without you.’
Now, as funny as this story is, let me add a disclaimer as we close today’s dose of Robservations.
Kids, don’t try this at home. First off, the prank has made national news. So for at least the next few months, nobody in the stands at any game is going to voluntarily hold up part of a sign, for fear they’ll inadvertently become the next victim.
Secondly, while Grachar may have gotten a slight punishment ‘ three days in-school and nine months of being everyone’s hero in the hallways ‘ the next time it happens it will probably be much more severe. So don’t go saying it was my idea when you end up expelled.
And lastly, I’ve seen the way most people spell these days. I’d hate to see some of our kids ‘ as bright as many of them are ‘ go to all that trouble, just so fans from some rival school can hold up signs declaring, ‘Wee Suk.’